Economics of regenerative agriculture and carbon farming

(ref. BAP-2021-756)

Laatst aangepast : 19/10/2021

SFERE stands for Sustainable Food Economies Research Group and is an interdisciplinary team of researchers investigating the transition of the agrifood system towards more sustainability and resilience with a particular focus on the socio-economic aspects of regenerative farming practices, plant-based food systems and new business models. SFERE is involved in several European research projects, including COCOREADO on short food supply chains, RUSTICA on biofertilizers and NEWBIE on new business models. SFERE Is one of the three research groups that together form the Bioeconomics Division which is part of the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences.

Responsibilities

The aim of the project is to investigate the social and economic aspectsof regenerative agriculture in general and carbon farming in particular.Regenerative agriculture is a set of practices that uses ecosystem services tosupport soil health and to optimize agricultural production. A particular focusis the sequestration of carbon in the soil, thus contributing to greenhouse gasmitigation and adaptation. The project will investigate farmer adoption of regenerative farming practices in Belgium,calculate costs and benefits or regenerative agriculture and identify barriersand enabling factors influencing adoption. The project will also focus on possiblefinancial mechanisms to reward farmers for their efforts (payment for ecosystemservices, including carbon credits) both through subsidies in the framework ofthe Common Agricultural Policy and private initiatives in which food companiesand retailers may set up schemes to pay farmers. Empirical work will be basedon both qualitative interviews with farmers and other actors and quantitativeassessments based on farm accounts and farm surveys.

The postdoc will co-supervise MSc and/or PhD students and actively engage in proposal writing on this topic.

Profile

• PhD in agricultural economics, resource economics, environmental economics or equivalent
• Proficient in English; some proficiency in Dutch and French is an added value
• A good publication record (at least one article in a journal with high impact factor)
• Collaborative, good coaching skills, networker

Offer

• A 1 year full-time postdoc position, with a possibility to extend the position based on positive evaluation and fund availability
• Work in an internationally oriented research group involved in several EU projects
  
• Proximity of Brussels, location of most EU institutions and related organisations

Interested?

For more information please contact Prof. dr. ir. Erik Mathijs, tel.: +32 16 32 14 50, mail: [email protected] or Mrs. Tessa Avermaete, tel.: +32 16 37 21 75, mail: [email protected].

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